Blu has always felt tailor-made for my hip hop taste. As a person that constantly treads the line between mainstream and underground (basically, I like good music, regardless of where its coming from), he takes my favorite elements from both and blends it in with his above average rapping ability. He's not overly technical and he'll never blow you away with his flow, but he has a way of making the listener feel like the only person he's talking to, making for almost creepily relatable songs. And of course, like almost all of my other favorite artists, he's weird as shit.
0 Comments
Before Slaughterhouse releases their second major label album, Glass House, they dropped a ten track mixtape called House Rules. I chose to tackle this tape to give me a little more time to digest the new Blu album that I've been telling myself I'm going to review for about a week now, but also because I usually enjoy new material from Royce da 5'9", Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and Joe Budden. And for anyone wondering, I'll answer the question right now: Royce is my favorite member, and I also consider him to be the best, although Crooked I comes in at a close second, Budden is a distance away at three, and Joell comes in last, which is saying something since he's still pretty good. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin marks the thirteenth studio album from Philadelphia-based rap band The Roots, not including the EPs, but counting collaborative efforts with John Legend and Elvis Costello. That's an incredible achievement. Think of your favorite artist right now: in most cases, they'll have less than five albums to their name. Perhaps what makes that even more remarkable is that The Roots have never been all that successful. Of course they have their core fanbase and you'd be hard pressed to find a dedicated rap fan that doesn't at least recognize the name, but in 2014, over twenty years after their debut, they're arguably at their peak of popularity. Over the past five years, they've smoothly transitioned from experimental, politically driven critical favorites to backing NBC's Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon, introducing them to a whole new demographic and giving the crew complete creative control with their label.
Naturally, The Roots chose to capitalize on their newly gain popularity with their second consecutive concept album ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, a follow up to 2011's Undun, a record most of their fans hold in high regard. Whereas Undun told the story of Redford Stephens life, ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin seeks to illustrate satire in hip hop culture with the help of multiple characters, which will of course mean further development in the devaluation of Black Thought's role in the group. Thought, one of my all time favorite rappers, only has six verses on here, which hurts my soul, but it's ?uestlove's group, and usually he makes decent musical decisions. I guess. Mac Miller is a restless polymath, and eventually his talents are all going to work out. Just take a look over the transformation over the last few years. The earliest memories of his career are the works of a kid unquestionable in love with hip hop, but lacking the skills to justify his passion. His songs, while not without their charm, showed a real lack of ambition and his lyrics were as clunky as his production. Even so, Mac proved that concern for talent was virtually nonexistent in the minds of the underaged frat circuit, who managed to make his 2011 debut Blue Slide Park the first independently released hip hop album to top the Billboard charts in nearly two decades.
With Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa being proclaimed eccentric, left-rap saviors, and artists both established (The Game, Nikki Minaj) and upcoming (Chief Keef, Lil Durk) claiming the mid-west, drill sound, it's not hard to mistake Chicago for the Mecca of the current generation of hip hop. But with the most potential-filled artists already being scooped up by major labels, you'd have to look further into the city to find who's up next. That's where you'll find Lil Herb and Lil Bibby, who's collective take on the Chi-Town music has redefines a sound that draws influences from all across the map, but can be simplified to a harsher, even more violent take on trap. In 2014, both artists are at crucial stages of their careers. An argument can be made that Lil Bibby is the face of this wave of rappers (as indicated by his XXL Freshman feature) and if he plays his cards right, he'll be the face of much more than a single city, but its Lil Herb sitting on a potential jackpot, with lyrical skills that rage far from the stereotype.
I love the infrequent reviews in which I actually get to talk about artists that I like. Not to say I haven't been enjoying the music I've reviewed this year, but today's entry comes from Pharoahe Monch, an artist that I have long been a fan of. Formerly one half of hip hop outfit Organized Konfusion, Monch was able to drop the dead weight known as Prince Po and actually test out a solo career. This year as you may know Prince Poetry released an album alongside producer Oh No in which he spit many raw, politically driven verses that caught the attention of a few underground listeners. Immediately after hearing this album Monch knew he had to out due his old band mate and release an album of his own. Now, Monch claims that he is finished with albums after the release of P.T.S.D., but it is my firm belief that for every one of Po's successes, Monch will be right there to steal the spotlight. His built up resentment for Po may bring out his very best work. After all, in twenty years I seriously doubt Pharoahe will want to look back at 2014 as the year he was out done by Prince Po. I wouldn't wish that form of suffering on my worst enemy. (Disclaimer: Prince Po was and still is a very talented rapper who I'm sure is a decent guy. I doubt very seriously that he is hated by Monch in the way that I described, but you never know.)
First off, let me apologize for the extended break in between post. (I'm just as tired of seeing that Future post every time I open the front page) Shit got in the way, which made me miss my four day deadline, but fear not because today's post might feature something you all are actually interested in. In a somewhat less than predictable turn off events, I'll be jotting down my thoughts on the newest members of the XXL Freshman list, which has proven over the past few years to be surprisingly credible. Hopefully this might even start up a conversation in the comment section. I just really, really don't feel like reviewing an album.
I'm not all that familiar with everyone on the list, which is probably a good thing since what I write down will be my gut reaction, but to keep things fair, I'll listen to a couple songs from each artist and let you know whether or not they're any good. (which is completely different from whether or not they reach success) I'll probably end up choosing one of their shittier songs, so if you have any recommendations, feel free to let me know. |